25 Things or Rosalie, Emmett and More Than Meets The Eye
by cerulean-pond
Summary: "Jessica said that they were together. As in together, together... Under the table and out of sight, Emmett and Rosalie's hands were entwined. I watched as their fingers moved, skin over skin." After her transition into a vampire, Bella began to notice a lot of things she had missed as a human. There was a lot more to Emmett and Rosalie than she'd ever imagined.
1. Introduction

**A/N:** Wow, I haven't written one of these things in forever. First things first [even though it is entirely redundant and offers me no legal protection at all] I do not own Twilight. The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Anyway, I recently reread the Twilight Saga just to see if I liked them as much as an adult as I did as a teenager. Surprisingly, my opinions haven't changed. I still can't stand Bella. But I loved the rest of the characters, especially the Cullen's and Jacob's pack. This led me to go on a fanfiction binge which in turn helped me discover that there is a distinct lack of Rosalie and Emmett fanfiction. I don't why. Maybe it's because Stephenie Meyer didn't spend much time developing other characters besides Bella, Jacob and Edward. Or maybe it's because Meyer doesn't like Rose? Either way, I made the decision to write this. Worse, I made the decision to write from Bella's POV which in itself, makes me cringe. This isn't even good writing but I did try and fix all of the mistakes. Hopefully, I caught most of them.

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I didn't know that much about Rosalie and Emmett. I knew they were in love. I knew that they were married for all intents and purposes. I knew Rosalie wore a wedding ring on her finger. I knew Emmett wore a matching gold band on his finger. They told anyone who asked they were promise rings. The Cullen's and I knew better.

I knew Rosalie was narcissistic, vain and self-centred. I knew she was passionate and that it didn't take much to anger her. I knew Rosalie treasured humanity and all that came with it. She loved fixing cars, playing the piano and reading to her husband in her soft, melodic voice. She loved shopping almost as much as Alice did, much to Emmett's chagrin. Rosalie was fiercely loyal to her friends and family. She would stop at nothing- and I mean nothing- to protect them. I knew that for a long time, I hadn't understood her. She could be bitter and cold. She'd never tasted human blood, a feat that was not to be ignored.

I knew Emmett was Rose's opposite in many ways. He was warm, kind and loving. I knew he loved to laugh and make others laugh. I knew he was cheerful and I knew he could be childish. I knew Emmett could be thoughtless and reckless; two things that frustrated Rosalie to no end. He enjoyed playing competitive sports and liked to wrestle with his prey. He liked to play chess with Rose and Jasper. He hated to play against Edward and Alice since their abilities allowed them to cheat. I knew he took joy in his life as a vampire. I knew he'd fallen off the proverbial vegetarian wagon once or twice.

When I transitioned into a vampire and became a member of the Cullen family, I started to notice a lot of the things I had missed as a human. There was a lot more to their relationship than the physicality of it. I also realised that the other Cullen's- Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Alice- had made no efforts to correct my human assumptions. In fact, they'd encouraged them. What follows is a list of everything I've learned about them over the years following my transition.

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 **A List: Rosalie, Emmett and More Than Meets The Eye**  
 **01.** Rosalie and Emmett liked to touch  
 **02.** Emmett made her laugh  
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	2. 01 Rosalie and Emmett liked to touch

**01\. Rosalie and Emmett liked to touch**

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It was one of the first things I'd noticed that day in the cafeteria. The Cullen's were seated alone at their table and my world had stopped. Jessica was answering my question in a low, excited tone. I was doing my best listening but my attention was occupied by Rosalie and Emmett.

They sat next to each other, close, but not touching. Rosalie's eyes drifted over the cafeteria as if she was our ruler and us her subjects. Emmett didn't look around. Even I could tell that he only had eyes for the jaw-droppingly beautiful blonde next to him.

Jessica said that they were together. As in together, together. It wasn't blatantly obvious until I saw it. Under the table and out of sight, Emmett and Rosalie's hands were entwined. I watched as their fingers moved, skin over skin, in small patterns. It was an intimate gesture and I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding on something that wasn't meant for anyone to see. But I couldn't stop myself from staring at them from the corner of my eye.

The corners of Rosalie's lips were lifted almost imperceptibly in what I thought was a smile. On her, it was hard to tell. From the hard look in her eyes, I had guessed that she didn't smile very often. Well, that was compared to the dainty spiky-haired girl seated next to Emmett. Alice, Jessica said her name was. Her lips were turned up in what seemed like a perpetual smile.

The dainty one left, moving like a dancer across the cafeteria to dump her untouched food into the trash can. I hadn't been unable to understand how anyone could move like that.

Emmett leant in close, his lips at Rosalie's ear. He murmured something to her. She gave him a withering look. Emmett grinned a big, almost goofy, yet somehow still beautiful, smile. He pulled away a little. Their hands were still linked together under the table.

With that, the rest of the Cullen's stood to follow Alice out.

It was strange, watching how they all moved together. All graceful, all mesmerising. Even Emmett moved with a certain elegance, despite his brawny bulk. They dumped their uneaten food into the rubbish and walked out of the cafeteria.

But that wasn't the strangest thing. The strangest thing was the way the whole time, Rosalie's hand never left his. It was almost like they didn't know how to let go of one another.

* * *

I had been thinking about them for a few weeks now. For a long time, I had been more interested in the other Cullen couples. I guess that was because it was much easier to see and understand how they felt about each other.

Alice and Jasper I understood. They were in love- wholly and completely. It was easy to see whenever they looked at each other with those tender, golden eyes. Or when Jasper twirled Alice around as they walked. He embraced her weird little quirks and she embraced his somewhat unsavoury past with open arms.

Carlisle and Esme were just as easy to understand, if not more. He'd saved her when all she had wanted was to die. He'd given her a reason to live. She'd given him hope that he didn't have to continue living his life in solitude or in guilt for making companions to share in his loneliness. They were sweet and gentle with one another. Soulmates.

But Rosalie and Emmett, they were much more difficult for me to understand. They were so different. Emmett was warm and open and loud. Rosalie was quiet, bitter, and cold. That's how I saw them. That was until I remembered about the hands under the table that very first day. The way they'd twisted together. It was something else, something I didn't associate much with their relationship.

I thought about asking Edward about it, but he had always been so private about his family. He never told their stories, not without their permission anyway. He had always been very careful to not mention their thoughts or feelings because he considered it an invasion of their privacy. So I changed my mind. I wouldn't have got a straight answer out of my bronze-haired husband anyway.

I considered asking Esme or Carlisle but again, it felt like an intrusion to ask them about Emmett and Rosalie. They were like children to them and it was kind of uncomfortable to think about asking sweet, mothering Esme about their private life anyway.

There was no way I was going to ask Rosalie about it, even though our relationship had improved recently. I wouldn't dare to ask Emmett either. He'd probably make a joke. Or five. Asking Jasper didn't like much of a safe option either. That left Alice.

* * *

My opportunity came a few weeks later. Alice had kidnapped me for yet another sleepover. Esme and Rosalie were supposed to stay behind as well. In the end, though, they'd decided to go hunting with the others. Apparently, there was a deer overpopulation issue a few miles west.

"It's safer this way, my dear," Esme had said, glancing in the direction of where Renesmee and Jacob sat. Jacob was taking Renesmee out to the reservation to listen to the Quileute legends for the first time. Her dark eyes had sparkled at me as she leant forward to place a kiss on the top of my head. From the colour of her eyes, I knew Esme was right.

Rosalie's eyes weren't the same as her adoptive mothers. They were golden. She wasn't thirsty. At first, I thought she wasn't staying because of me. But then, when Emmett had realised she'd decided to go hunting with them after all, his face had lit up. Emmett had enveloped her in a bear hug and spun her around. By the second spin, Rosalie looked tired of his exuberance. She brought her fist down on his back. He let her go, booming his trademark laugh.

They'd left shortly after, leaving me alone with Alice to be pampered and played with like her own Barbie doll. After letting Alice paint my nails, play with my hair and dress me up in expensive pyjamas, I finally made the decision to ask her.

We were sitting in on the couch in the living room. She'd put some random movie on. From what I could tell, it was very chick-flicky. But I wasn't paying attention to the movie. I was trying to, but the way Emmett had looked at Rosalie before they'd left was playing on a loop in my mind.

"Alright," Alice said, "spit it out, Bella."

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"You've been wanting to ask me something all night and you keep changing your mind," she said, sounding annoyed. "It's playing havoc with my visions so let's skip another hour of indecision and get straight into the asking the question part." Alice looked at me expectantly.

"Sorry," I muttered. I knew Alice hated it when people changed their minds again and again. It was confusing for her.

"It's okay, Bella, ask your question."

"It was about Emmett and Rosalie," I began, uncertain. I still didn't know if it was okay for me to ask about them. "I wondered about their relationship. I always thought they had more of a physical one."

"That's not a question," Alice said, but she nodded all the same. "They are rather physical, compared to you and Edward. And Carlisle and Esme. And Jasper and I, I guess."

I waited as she pondered their relationship. It was obvious that Alice knew a lot more about Rosalie and Emmett than I did. I was pretty sure that she wasn't trying to work out what to say but rather what not to say. There must've been a lot of things she felt she couldn't say to me without betraying their trust because it took ten minutes of silent deliberation before she spoke.

"Emmett and Rosalie are different to the rest of us," Alice began. "They found each other in a different way- out of need and desperation. With them, it was a lot more life and death. Originally, Carlisle and Esme had hoped that Rosalie and Edward would develop feelings for each other. It only took a couple of months for them to realise that was never going to happen."

I couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous at the idea of Rosalie and Edward together. It was hard not to. Despite my enhanced appearance after my transition, Rosalie was still the most gorgeous person I'd ever laid eyes on. As a vampire, I could see much better than I could as a human. Rosalie's beauty had seemed to increase a thousand times after I changed. It didn't matter that Edward and Rosalie only considered themselves to be siblings. Jealousy was irrational like that.

"After Rosalie saved Emmett from the bear attack, she was a little… distant. I think it was in part because she felt guilty about sentencing him to the same life as the rest of us. Emmett didn't see it like that of course. He took to life as a vampire much quicker and better than the rest of us. He followed her around like a lost puppy. Rose… Well, she was Rose. Back then she was a bit different. From what I understand of those days, Rosalie was harsh and cruel and unapologetically bitter. She was colder, more withdrawn."

A frown settled on my forehead. I couldn't imagine a colder, more inhospitable Rosalie. In my mind, I guess I'd always thought about Rose as how I'd seen her in those earlier years. The years in which she detested me and fought against me, stubbornly so.

"It took a while. I think that Emmett must have almost given up on her when it happened. He said something that had made Rosalie laugh. Not a sarcastic laugh or a mocking one, but a real, true laugh. Esme said she hadn't heard Rose truly laugh in the two years since she'd become a vampire."

Even I couldn't remember the last time I'd heard Rosalie laugh freely.

"They saved each other in different ways but they can't bear to be apart," Alice continued. "Touching- it's their thing. Like how Jasper and I look at each other. Or Carlisle and Esme whisper to each other so that not even we can hear it when we're standing in the same room. Edward once said it was because they were each other's gravity. Emmett helped Rosalie hold onto reality and she helped him hold onto his humanity."

I paused at that. Emmett had always seemed very human-like to me, especially in the way he expressed his emotions. And the fact that he could never sit still for long. Or how he always told jokes and wanted to make everyone else laugh, even in the bad times. "Rose helps him hold onto his humanity?" I couldn't help but question that conclusion. It didn't make sense to me.

Alice laughed. "I think that Edward once mentioned to you that Emmett had fallen off the proverbial wagon a few times?"

"Yeah?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew where this was going.

"Rosalie hasn't ever tasted human blood. An impressive feat, even in this family," she said. "But Emmett, well. He's tasted enough blood for the two of them."

I frowned at that, turning back to the film. She'd given me plenty to think about. There was a lot I still didn't know about my new family and apparently, Edward had been holding out on me. And I wasn't just talking about sex.

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 **A/N:** Okay so that was the first number on the list. I don't really know how to feel about it since it's not my favourite one, but I guess it's alright. I've written the first ten chapters already. This will be updated weekly as so far, 25 chapters have been planned. If I get some more inspiration, I might add more. Anyway, let me know what you think if you actually click on this and read it. Thanks so much!


	3. 02 Emmett made her laugh

**02\. Emmett made her laugh**

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Making people laugh; it was one of the things Emmett was best at. He could make anyone laugh. It didn't matter where or when. Making others laugh was one of the natural talents that had transferred from his human life into his vampire life. I hadn't known him back then but I guessed that just like Rosalie's beauty or Carlisle's compassion, his talent had only increased since becoming a vampire.

Rosalie didn't laugh very often. When she did, it was forced. Or it felt sarcastic or mocking; those ones were usually aimed towards me. The few times I'd heard her laugh, properly, it had been in response to Esme, Jasper, Alice and occasionally, Carlisle. She never laughed at something Edward said. She preferred to roll her eyes.

But Emmett was the one who made her laugh the most. He pulled her out of herself a lot. When I spent time as a human at the Cullen's home, I was often more concerned with Edward than the others. The few times I actually paid any attention to the others, I noticed that Rose was usually nowhere to be seen. She didn't like me and she didn't want to waste her time with me. When she actually stayed, she spent a lot of time staring out of windows, lost in thought.

I'd thought that was weird. Rosalie was a very passionate person. But when she was in a group setting where no-one was paying attention to her, she'd fold up into herself. I had always wondered what she had been thinking about.

After she'd told me her story, I didn't have to wonder anymore. Rosalie was remembering what had happened to her. She was remembering the night she had become a vampire. She clung to it with a furious determination. She was remembering everything that had been ripped from her by Royce, by Carlisle, by this way of life.

That day was no different. Edward and I were playing cards with Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Carlisle and Esme. It was an interesting game of Go Fish, especially the way the Cullen's played it. Jasper and Carlisle employed complicated strategies to try and keep Edward and Alice out of their heads. Esme was too busy keeping her children and her husband honest. Emmett laughed, a lot. Edward and Alice seemed to be holding a silent battle, staring at each other.

Rosalie had declined to play. Instead, she had opted to read a book. She was sitting on the sofa, turning the pages of her book and paying no attention to the rest of us.

"Boys, play nice!" Esme scolded Jasper and Edward. Edward had taken four of Jasper's cards in one turn. Jasper had hissed at Edward when he realised that he'd managed to take a mental peak at Jasper's cards.

"Sorry, mum," Edward said with a breathtaking smile, only somewhat abashed.

Emmett choked back a laugh at the look on Esme's face.

It was Alice's turn now. She stared at Edward for two minutes before turning to Carlisle with a sly smile on her face. "Carlisle, do you have a queen?"

"Yes, I do," Carlisle said with a sigh. He flicked the card over at Alice while looking at Esme. His meaning was clear. Esme was his queen.

Esme couldn't help but smile softly. If she could blush, I'm pretty sure her cheeks would be coloured a soft pink.

Alice's conniving smile deepened. "Carlisle," she said. "Do you have an eight?"

Carlisle looked at Alice with a frown. He handed the card over.

"Do you have a four? And a three?" Alice asked, much too innocently.

Carlisle tossed the cards at Alice. "I thought we said no cheating," he commented.

"Alice," Esme sighed.

"I can't help it. Edward saw Carlisle's cards when Jasper caught a glance and he made the decision to get Carlisle's cards next," Alice said. "So, it's all Edwards fault for reading Jasper's thoughts."

"Why can't we ever play a clean game?" Esme asked.

"My fault?" Edward asked. "It's Jasper's fault for looking at Carlisle's cards!"

Everyone turned to Jasper.

"It's Carlisle's fault for not keeping the cards close to his chest," Jasper said, hands raised. Straight away a soft feeling of understanding spread through my chest.

"Jasper!" They all exclaimed as they felt his empathic abilities.

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," he said, but it was obvious from his expression that he was not sorry in the slightest.

Emmett barked out another laugh. Esme shot an apologetic smile at me and Carlisle buried his head in his hands. Edward was laughing too. I was thinking about how gorgeous his laugh was when he froze.

"Emmett," he said in a low, urgent voice.

Emmett stopped laughing and looked at Edward with confusion. Edward jerked his head in Rose's direction. Everyone's eyes turned to her. She had stopped reading and she was staring out of the window into the rain. She was biting down on her lip so hard that even I, a human, could see her skin beginning to crack. Her hands were resting on the book that lay on her lap. Rosalie's hands were shaking. Not a lot, but enough that I could pick it out.

Emmett swore under his breath. Esme looked as if she might berate him for his choice of language but Carlisle put a hand on her arm. Emmett stood and moved towards Rose. He went slowly, carefully, as if trying not to startle her.

"Rosalie," he said softly.

She didn't look at him. He sighed and took another step towards her. I looked at Edward, confused, and ready to ask what was happening. He shook his head. This wasn't the time or place for questions.

"Rosalie," he repeated. Emmett was standing right beside her now. He reached out to her with one hand but hesitated to touch her. His hand hovered in the air before he finally made the decision to touch his wife. Emmett placed his hand gently on her shoulder. Rosalie flinched under his touch.

"Rosalie, it's okay," he said, sitting down so that he was beside her on the couch. "Breathe."

Moments passed. Her eyes were closed tightly and the usually strong Rosalie was trembling under his touch. Emmett was quiet but kept his hand on her shoulder. He didn't let her go.

Finally, Rose opened her eyes. She turned to look at Emmett. Her eyes were lined with the familiar red that I had begun to associate with vampires crying. They couldn't physically cry of course, but the red was as close as they could get.

"Oh," she said, eyes widening as she was drawn back into reality. Rosalie stood, pulling away from Emmett's touch. "I'm going to go work on my convertible," she told him a little too quickly.

"Rosalie…" Emmett sighed. He stood too, concern evident on his face.

"I'll be fine, Emmett," Rosalie said. She stared back at Emmett who clearly didn't believe her. "I promise, I'm fine." She turned to the rest of us. "I'm sorry for the interruption to your game," she said. "Please continue."

Then, Rosalie turned on her heel and left the room. Emmett watched her leave, waiting. When she was far enough away, he turned to Edward with an eyebrow raised.

"Is she?" He asked.

Edward shook his head. Rosalie wasn't as okay as she wanted the rest of us to think. Emmett took a deep breath then followed after her. I turned back to the rest of the Cullen's. They looked concerned.

"I thought it had stopped," Alice said softly.

"It had," Carlisle agreed.

"No, it didn't," Esme corrected. "She just got better at hiding it."

"What happened, Edward?" Jasper asked. "I only felt her when you got Emmett's attention. The rest of you were masking the pain she was feeling."

Edward shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I wasn't paying attention, not like I used to anyway. I didn't think I had to anymore."

"Something must've triggered it," Alice pushed. Her porcelain forehead was crinkled as she frowned.

"Maybe it was something she read in the book?" Carlisle suggested. He looked at Esme, which surprised me. He was the doctor in the family after all. I figured that whatever was wrong with Rosalie, it would've made more sense for him to know what was going on.

Esme shook her head. "Maybe, but it all depends on what she was thinking, Carlisle. Don't you remember how something as small as water could affect me?"

Oh. Esme's story. The cliff. The abuse. The way she'd jumped to her death after she had lost her baby. I guess it made sense that they turned to Esme to figure out what was going on in Rosalie's head. She was the only one of them who could really understand.

Carlisle nodded, wincing. He definitely remembered.

"Hands," Edward said suddenly.

We all turned to look at him.

"She was thinking about hands," he elaborated.

"That small of a trigger?" Carlisle asked. "Even after all this time?"

Esme opened her mouth, ready to respond when we heard it. Bright, unbridled laughter. It sounded like sunshine and rose petals and spring. It was Rose's laugh. Her real one, not the one laced with bitterness. Instead of speaking, Esme closed her mouth. Her lips stretched into a smile.

"He always could make her laugh," she said.

"Even in the worst of times," Carlisle agreed.

"What'd he tell her?" Jasper asked Edward.

"A knock-knock joke," Edward said.

Alice wrinkled her nose. I guess she didn't like knock-knock jokes.

"It's your turn," she told her brother. I understood the wrinkling of her nose better now. It had nothing to do with knock-knock jokes and everything to do with the fact that Edward was probably going to pull ahead of her in points this turn.

"Alice," Edward asked, with a wicked gleam in his eyes, "do you have a nine?"

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 **A/N:** Thanks for reading! I tried to sprinkle in some humour but it probably didn't alleviate much. Anyway, write a review if you'd like to share your thoughts. I respond to every review if you're logged in. A quick shout out to the reviewers of the previous chapter: Queen of Poptarts, Marlene and Guest. Love, ceru.


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